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rhe rexas and Pacific Railroadaid GraltsSCompariso of Zad rat Policies of the11ited States a#d ZexasRALPH N. TRAXLER, JR.THE DEVELOPMENT Of land grant policies by the UnitedStates government and the state of Texas designed to aidrailroad construction was long and involved. The UnitedStates Congress began to discuss the problem in the 1840's. Fromthen until the enactment of the General Forfeiture Act in 189o,the subject of land subsidy was debated frequently. All told thefederal government granted over 31,000ooo,ooo acres.' In Texas thefirst land grant was made in 1852. Others were to follow, until in1882 land subsidization was brought to an end, with Texas havinggranted over 32,000,000 acres to aid railroad construction.2 Inmany respects the policies established by Texas followed those ofthe federal government. In other respects definite contrasts arenoted. The Texas and Pacific land grant makes a good case studyto show comparisons and contrasts between United States andTexas policies in giving aid to railroads.The land aid policy of the United States government wasinitiated by the grant made to the Illinois Central Railroad in1850o. This legislation provided for a subsidy of six alternate sec-tions per mile made directly to the various states through whichthe line would be built. Indemnity limits were to extend fifteento twenty miles on each side of the main line in case previouslAnnual Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Ofice for the Year x943(Washington, 1943), 48.2Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, 9rg8-z930 (Austin,1930), 4-6; S. G. Reed, "Land Grants and Other Aids to Texas Railroads," South-western Historical Quarterly, XLIX, 518-523.BRichard Peters (ed.), United States Statutes at Large (Boston, 1851), IX, 466.